Railway-crossing signal



T. W. V AHLEY AND W. C. NEIN. RAILWAY CROSSING SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-I3, 191s. RENEWED FEB.5.1921.

A TTOR/UE V THOMAS W. VARLEY AND WILLIAM C. NEIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RAILWAY-CROSSING SIGNAL.

Application filed September 13, 1916, Serial No. 119,881. RenewedFebruary 5, 1921.

To all whom if may con cern Be it known that we, THOMAS W. VARLEY and\ViLLIAM C. NEIN, citizens of the United States of America, residing atNew York city, county of New York, and State of New York, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Railway-Crossing Signals, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in railway crossing signals andmore particularly to devices for controlling the operation of thesignals.

According to the present invention, the desired control is effected bymeans of magnets along the track, the fields of which are altered by theWheels, or other magnetic parts, of a'train, this change of field, orflux, distribution of magnets being detected by suitable devices actingas relays, which in turn control the circuits, for the signals.

The magnets are also arranged,,upon the track, so that in the event oftheir being deranged, or removed from their normal position, the signalswill act to disclose this condition, thus constituting what is known asa closed circuit system, in this case a closed magnetic circuit.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the invention,

Figure 1 shows details, partly in cross section, of a magnetic detectoracting as a relay, in conjunction with a rail of a track, and a magnet.

Fig. 2 shows the top view of Fig. 1, illustrating the pole plate of themagnet in its relation to a wheel and the rail.

Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 1, except that the detector support isfastened to the rail, and the pole plate is .removed from directmagnetic contact with the magnet.

The contacting devices may be of a structure as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.In these figures, 1, represents a rail, while 3 represents a wheel of acar or engine truck resting upon the rail, other wheels (not shown), onthe other side of the truck resting upon the other rail of a track (notshown) in a manner which is well understood.

Supported from the bottom of the rail by one end, is a 'U-shaped magnet5, the other end being bent up in proximity with the top of the rail.Fastened to thetop end of the magnet by bolt 6, is a soft iron plate 7,torming an enlarged ole piece as shown. In the magnetic gap etween thepoles of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 6, 1921.

Serial No. 442,890.

the magnet may be placed a body of iron or other suitable magneticmaterial 8, having a horn 9, separated by an air gap 10, from a similarhorn 11, of a body 12, of magnetic material. Mounted adjacent the airgap 10 is a contact armature or tongue 13, which may be simply a stripof spring steel secured at 14, and biased to normally engage the backcontact 15. Upon the other side of the tongue 13, is a forward contact16, into engagement with which the tongue may be drawn by the magneticflux between the horns 9 and 11. The tongue is retracted against theforward contact when it will occupy the position as indicated by thedotted line, when the magnetic pull of the tongue is sufiicient toovercome its spring. It will be observed that in this position it doesnot quite contact with the horns. Conversely, when the spring is greaterthan the magnetic pull,the tongue will move into engagement with thebackcontact. The magnetic bodies 8 and 12, are carried ona suitablesupporting piece 17 of non-magnetic material, which also "carries thetongue 13, the tongue being suitably insulated from the support 17 byinsulation 18. The support 17, is in turn carried by non-magnetic memberK, in such a way as to allow the support to be rotated in a verticalplane for reasons as will be hereinafter shown. This mounting of thesupport 17 is effected by a stud 40, which is fixed to the support 1and, passing through the member K, is secured by the nut 41, which is inscrewthreaded engagement with the stud. 40. When the nut is screwedtightlyagainst the member K, the body 17 isclamped in any position towhich it may be adjusted in a vertical plane. When the nut is loosened,the body may be turned, the stud turning with it in the hole in themember K, and, the nut being again tightened, the body 17 will besecured in the position to which it has been adjusted about the axis ofthe stud. The member K, is wedged between the poles of the magnet 5, andin addition held in place by the bolt 6. The apparatus is so adjustedthat when there is no vehicle in the vicinity, the flux concentrated inthe horns 9 and 11, and across the air gap 10, is sufficient to attractthe tongue 13, into the dotted line osition and against the forwardcontact. en, however, the vehicle wheel or truck comes opposite themagnet netic circuits, as follows:

5, the wheels and axles and portions of the truck being usually made ofiron, a path of decreased magnetic reluctance between fthe pole piece 7and the head of the rail willbe provided, magnetism will be divertedfrom the path leading across the horns 9 and 11,

and the air gap 10, the tongue 13 will spring! away from the horns andthe tongue will disengage with contact 16, and move into engagement withcontact 15. Electrical connection to the tongue may be made by conductorL. The magnetic path provided by the vehicle having been removed by thepassage of the vehicle out of operative range, magnetism will again passbetween the horns 9 and 11, with sufficient strength to attract thetongue 13. It will now be seen that certain contacts are normally heldclosed and that the passage of the vehicle alters the magnetic flux ofthe track device, so that the contactor is moved to effect a change inthe electrical connections. This may be taken advantage of to set inoperation a signal, such as a crossing signal, or to terminate theoperation of the same.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, the object of supporting thedetecting device, consisting of horns 8, 12, etc., is, so as to be ableto rotate it in a vertical plane to enable the device to be adjusted sothat the magnetic pull of the horns upon the tongue may be varied byturning the whole at right angles to the position shown whereby the fluxof the horns to the tongue may be varied as desired. Instead of thedevice as shown in Fig. 1, a somewhat similar device may be used, asshown in Fig. 3, with, however, this distinction, in Fig. 1 the fiuXthrough the tongue is altered by shunting out of the flux due to thepassage of, in this case, a wheel, whereas in Fig. 3 the chan e of fluxfrom the horns to the tongue is o tained by a different arrangement ofmag- The magnetic members 8 and 12 with their horns 9 and 11 inconjunction with the tongue 13, suitably supported as in Fig. 1, but inthis case from the web of the rail, acts as the detector proper, theplate 7 being magnetically separated by a block 30, from the magnet 5,the magnet 5, as in Fig. 1, bein supported from the base of the rail.The detector is supported from the rail to insure its action in case themagnet is removed from the rail, from any cause, the loss of magneticflux from the horns 9 and 11 to tongue 13, causing the tongue to move toits back contact.

lVhile the invention has been illustrated in what are considered itsbest application, it may have other embodiments without de' parting fromits spirit and is not, therefore, limited to the structures shown in thedrawings.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In'a contact device, the combination with a railway track extendingalong a fixed right of way of a U shaped magnet having one end inmagnetic contact with one rail only of said track and its other endseparated from said rail by an air gap, magnetic members, having a gapbetween them, extending between the poles of said magnet, a magneticarmature across said gap and contacts controlled by said armature. thefirst mentioned gap being adapted to have its flux varied by the passageof a wheel on said rail, to change the flux through the said magneticmembers and armature to operate the last.

2. In a contact device, the, combination with a railway track extendingalong a fixed right of way, of a U shaped magnet having one end inmagnetic contact with one rail only of said track, the other end beingseparated from Said rail by an air gap and having an expanded pole piecealong the rail, magnetic members, extending between the poles of saidmagnet, said magnetic members being supported independently of saidmagnet and having an air gap between them, a magnetic armature acrosssaid gap and contacts controlled by said armature, the first mentionedgapbeing adapted to have its flux varied by the passage of a wheel onsaid rail to change the flux through the said magnetic members andarmature to operate the last.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of the subscribing witness, this 12 day of September, 1916.

THOMAS W. VARLEY. WILLIAM G. NEIN.

Witness MAR W. WALLACE.

